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UK Voters Decide to Leave EU
With all the results in, it appears that voters in the UK have chosen Brexit. “Leave” defeated “Remain,” 51.9 percent to 48.1 percent, a lead that held most of the night. ITV, Sky, and BBC have officially declared victory for the sovereignty movement.
Scotland and Northern Ireland were the strongest regions for remaining in the European Union, while England and Wales had the lion’s share of Euroskeptics.
You can see the vote count and read late-breaking news via The Telegraph.
Brexit enthusiast Nigel Farage made the following remarks in response:
“If the predictions now are right, this will be a victory for real people, a victory for ordinary people, a victory for decent people. We have fought against the multinationals, against the big merchant banks, against big politics, against lies against lies, corruption and deceit, and today honesty and decency and belief in nation I think now is going to win.
We will have done it without having to fight, without a single bullet having been fired.
I hope this victory brings down this failed projects and brings us to a Europe of sovereign nation states trading together.
Let June the 23rd go down in our history as our independence day.
Last updated 2:00 am ET
Published in General
As an American my investment in this is mostly theoretical. I admit to having a bias towards and independent UK and less influence by the European bureaucracy. But this is not theoretical – it will have real consequences for real people, many of them impossible to foresee. I am a little uncomfortable with such a big issue being decided by such a narrow margin.
They could just go back to the St. George’s cross on white. It has a old time crusader feel to it. Classic designs will be in again!
Dude. You are harshing my buzz.
I am a Yank first and a Brit second. Tonight has given me some hope. And I haven’t felt hope in a long, long time.
Leave wins! It is a great day for the entire Anglosphere.
Dare I remind us that Trump has been on the side of Brexit while both Obama and Clinton were on the losing side?
Trump’s election this fall will be America’s Brexit.
OMG and he is now in Scotland. All part of his 5 dimensional chess game. Now he will run for prime minister.
I am so happy for Nigel Firage. This poor guy began this crusade years ago amid much derision from nearly every politician in Britain.
At this rate, England might vote Scotland out before they could even secede. I get the sense that many in England are getting a wee bit tired of Scottish antics.
I so hope you are correct. You always seem to know just the right thing to say! ?
That’s a great point. There’s a very high bar to amend the U.S. Constitution, and rightly so. This seems somewhat analogous.
I’m inclined to think referenda like Brexit or the recent Scottish vote on leaving the U.K., with such major and permanent changes riding on them, should in fairness require something like a 2/3 supermajority to pass.
Did they require a 2/3 to enter such an agreement?
More than a third of Scots voted to leave. I was quite surprised there were so many.
Unless you own stock, then your investment might be more literal than you realize:
I don’t anticipate this being a long term problem.
No, but I believe that they did hit that threshold, or close to it.
Define “long term.” How quickly will the markets recover from this, are we talking weeks, months, or years?
Couldn’t this spark another global financial crisis? Lots of Wall Street and London types were certain Remain would win, and bet big accordingly, and are now panicking. Might a sudden market or currency crash, even if only temporary, cause some “too big to fail” banks to start clamoring for bailouts all over again?
But, how’d they get in the EU? I don’t think there was any super-majority for that.
Strikes me as a good time to buy stocks and currency futures in the British pound. The market will rebound in time.
I’m so very pleased for the brits tonight…glad to know there are that many people left in the country with some common sense.
“Scotland and Northern Ireland were the strongest regions for remaining in the European Union”
Along with London.
Actually , the Brits only voted to join the Common Market(European Economic Community) in 1975, which morphed into the EU through various treaties over the years. It was originally meant to be a free trade union, not a political state. The 1991 Maastrict Treaty created the foundation for the EU and the Euro as a single currency. John Major negotiated an opt out for Britain and insisted on keeping the pound. I was in England at that time , and it was very controversial as the British public wasn’t given a vote. Many a disgruntled Brit argued that it would lead to the power hungry bureaucracy it has become.
You posted from my favorite Shakespeare play. I awoke and when I saw the news I burst with pride for my English kin. When I saw your post, I had to share this one:
I don’t know why I’m so happy about this, but I am. Good for the U.K. Maybe they can start moving towards the light of a freer more independent society now. Good luck!
I am very happy about the outcome with Brexit. Back in 1992, when it looked like the EU would expand free-markets and free-capital amongst the nation states of Europe I was in favor of it. With the decisive failure of Socialism by the USSR, I thought the lesson learned. Boy was I wrong. As the EU turned 180 degrees into an increasingly socialist, nanny-nightmare-with-the-steel-ruler I have turned against it, decisively.
I expect my retirement funds to take a short-term hit. They might recover long-term, maybe even do better. But whether or not, long live Brexit!
What we call a win-win situation. Upon whom would the Scots welsh?
My reason is two-fold. Primarily, I think proud, strong and free nations are good for the entire world. But I’m also glad to see strong public opinion in favor of reversing a major, counter-productive trend. If they can do it maybe we can too.
Me, too. It’s been a long while since I’ve been both surprised and encouraged by a political outcome. What a wonderful moment for Britain, and for those of us who cheer them.
Well put! From Newmax 6/24: